1. Field
The present invention relates to a container and method for processing biopsy samples, and more particularly to a container and method for embedding biopsy samples for subsequent cross-sectioning.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Biopsy samples are often sliced into thin sections (e.g., 2 to 25 micron thick sections), such as by a microtome, prior to being analyzed. Sectioning a sample in this regard may help a medical professional in making an assessment under a microscope, such as to diagnose relationships among cells and other constituents of the biopsy sample. Sectioned samples may also be used to help analyze the molecular composition of a biopsy.
Prior to sectioning, processing of a biopsy sample typically includes several steps that lead to the sample becoming embedded within a solid substrate. One such common solid substrate is paraffin wax, which holds the sample in position and provides a uniform consistency to facilitate sectioning by the microtome. The method of processing the sample into the embedding substrate may include one or more of the following steps: 1-Fixation to immobilize the molecular components of a biopsy sample and/or prevent sample degradation. 2-Transferring the sample from a biopsy container to a processing cassette. 3-Infiltrating the sample with an embedding material, such as paraffin wax. 4-Embedding the sample. The step of infiltrating the cells of the biopsy sample typically involves first exposing the sample to alcohol to remove water from the sample, then exposing the sample to xylene to remove the alcohol and fatty substances. Liquid wax is then applied to wash away the xylene and fill the sample with paraffin to “infiltrate” all of the spaces that were originally filled with water or fatty substances. The step of embedding the sample involves positioning the tissue within a liquid embedding material. The paraffin wax is cooled to harden, immobilizing the tissue for later sectioning.
Existing practices for fixing, transferring, infiltrating, and embedding a biopsy sample typically involve manual handling. Such transfer steps may increase the likelihood of misidentifying a sample, contaminating a sample with part of another patient's sample, or losing part of, or even all of, the sample. Moreover, the numerous steps may increase the time that it takes to provide an assessment for a sample, once the sample has been collected from a patient. Existing practices also pose difficulties in positioning samples in a common plane for sectioning, particularly when there are multiple samples or sample fragments being embedded together.